EVEN with its P15.2 billion core income for the first half of the year, integrated telecommunications giant PLDT, Inc. remains wary of competition from telecommunications industry newcomers.
The earnings represent a 10 percent increase from the year-ago level of P13.87, bringing the total revenues to P95.62 billion in the first six months of 2021.
The revenues keep the 93-year company on track to reach its P30 billion target this year income from core services, according to PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT president and chief executive officer, said they acknowledge the presence of new players when asked by this writer on the competition coming from Converge ICT Solutions (Converge) and third player Dito Telecommunity (Dito) in a recent video conference that reported their first-half earnings
“We have a hyper-competitive market today. We are battling it out in a big big way in both fields. We do have competitions on both sides (fixed broadband and cellular services),” Panlilio said.
Panlilio expressed confidence that the company would remain strong with its large subscriber base and track record as service provider. He took the PLDT executive helm two months from Pangilinan who remains as chairman.
“We are hoping that at the end of the year we will have more subscribers in fixed broadband. In wireless, we are aware of competitive rates being offered by the new firm. At the end of it all, it’s the network experience that will succeed,” Panlilio said.
Converge, which business roots can be traced to Betamax and VHS rentals in Angeles City in the 1980s, has diversified from cable television and is now a fiber optics and internet provider in Luzon, parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
It has continued to expand and is now a leading fiber broadband provider in North, South and Central Luzon. Its initial half-million lines in roll out in 2018 now covers more than 370,000 kilometers of fiber assets, while its subscriber base grew exponentially at 1.3 million. This is more than double the 2020 figure.
Converge is well on track with its objective to cover 55 percent of total households in the Philippines or around 15 million households by the year 2025.
DITO, on the other hand, the country’s vaunted third cellular and mobile data provider, has been aggressive in its rollout. Its website states that as of May 2021, it has expanded to 15 cities more in the Philippines' three major islands.
It offers 25GB High-Speed Data for P199 promo, which is valid for 30-days. Its website says that they offer fast and reliable data services, with unlimited DITO-to-DITO calls and texts plus unlimited texts and 300 minutes of voice calls to other mobile networks. Features such as call waiting, call forwarding and video over LTE are also now available for DITO subscribers. (Noel G. Tulabut/SunStar Pampanga)